A rocket launch from Woomera, South Australia in 2017. Photo: Australian Defence

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced today that the South Australian capital had successfully bid to be the home of the Australian Space Agency.

Formed this year after being announced at the 2017 International Astronautical Congress held in Adelaide, the agency will be the regulatory body for Australia’s burgeoning space industry.

The Australian Space Agency was officially launched on 1 July and received $41 million over four years from 2018-19 in the federal budget to “grow the Australian space industry,” including $26 million to help launch the agency which will “coordinate domestic space activities for Australia”.

Prime Minister Morrison said the decision to base the agency in South Australia reinforced the state’s long-standing contribution to Australia’s space journey.

“South Australia is the ideal location for the Australian Space Agency with a range of local space industry businesses already established here as well as a rapidly growing defence industry sector,” Prime Minister Morrison said.

“Establishing the headquarters of the Australian Space Agency in South Australia will launch our space and defence sectors to the next level.”

South Australia Premier Steven Marshall said long-term investment in Adelaide and its space sector would drive entrepreneurship and innovation while enhancing the city’s liveability.

“South Australia is the ideal location for the Australian Space Agency with a range of local space industry businesses already established here as well as a rapidly growing defence industry sector,” he said.

The Australian Space Agency will be headquartered at Lot Fourteen, a former hospital being transformed into an innovation district in the CBD of Adelaide, South Australia.

The South Australia Space Industry Centre has been instrumental in helping establish the space sector in the state and reports that there are more than 70 companies employing 800 people in the industry in South Australia, including Italian space company SITAEL.

Prime Minister Morrison said the new agency would “turbo-charge” these efforts by “opening doors for local businesses and Australian access to the US$345 billion global space industry.”

“Our government’s $41 million investment into the Agency will act as a launching pad to triple Australia’s space economy to $12 billion and create up to 20,000 jobs by 2030,” Prime Minister Morrison said.

“This Agency is part of our plan for a stronger economy for South Australia and the country which is about delivering long-term, high-wage, high-skills jobs.”

South Australia is also backing a bid for the SmartSat CRC, a collaborative effort to solve major satellite system and advanced communications challenges that will provide enhanced connectivity, navigation and monitoring, to be based in Adelaide.

The South Australian pitch for a $200 million space industry-focused cooperative research centre in Adelaide is one of six finalists, with the winning bids for the $731 million CRC program being announced in 2019.

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